Ali Mirza, who is also the chairman of The National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA), said during Petrotech 2012 that the country will introduce two renewable energy pilot projects which will generate 5MW of electricity each.

He added that work would start immediately on the smart solar project after signing a MoU with US-based firm Petra Solar to build the project.

Petra Solar had entered into an agreement with NOGA, the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and Caspian Energy Holdings to build a distributed smart solar energy project that will bring solar and smart grid benefits to Awali, the University of Bahrain and other locations in the country.

The company said that the project included a system to monitor the electricity grid and the solar panels. The solar project is the first phase of a national energy plan to generate electricity from renewable sources.

"Following a successful implementation of this pilot project, we expect that other projects will follow in the near future," said Ali Mirza. "Through forming strategic alliances with technologically advanced partners, NOGA aims to diversify the energy supply sources that will help achieve the goals of Bahrain Vision 2030."